The College should proceed with providing cable televi-sion installation to all residence hall rooms. While most dorms are currently wired, there are no immediate plans for providing students with a cable signal.
Since almost all residence halls were already wired for cable during Ethernet connections upgrading, the prohibitive installation cost is no longer a valid reason for not providing cable. Although completing the cable installation plan will result in additional costs to the College, a properly organized billing system would reap subscription fees to help alleviate these costs.
Dartmouth's isolated campus needs cable as a vital connection to the "outside world." The rural confines of New Hampshire limit student viewing opportunities to NBC and Vermont Public Television. One or two cable televisions per cluster are insufficient for the approximately 150 students who live there. With the current television system, students cannot even watch news on the weekend.
Schools such as the University of Pennsylvania and Boston College provide extensive cable service to their students, although their urban location already grants them a variety of network stations.
Cable would also provide educational opportunities, allowing professors to assign television features to supplement class material and opening up a wide range of possibilities for campus broadcasting.
Moreover, cable television in student rooms would improve living standards and make the dorms a more attractive option for students considering off-campus housing. Cable-wired rooms would also facilitate student interaction in rooms.
Any one-time costs incurred in the initial installation, as well as any upkeep costs, will be outweighed by the social and educational opportunities of cable television in residence hall rooms.
